Cats Don’t Need Coffins

Elderly cat fancier Rachel Murdock, "an appealing Jessica Fletcher antecedent" (Publishers Weekly), tackles a puzzling case in this cozy mystery from a master of domestic suspense. When sisters Rachel and Jennifer Murdock receive a letter from Miriam Hamilton, the daughter of the man who, decades earlier, swindled their father, inviting them to her luxurious home and offering financial amends, the sisters accept and head off with their beloved cat, Samantha, in tow. Shortly after they arrive, they meet their host--or rather, her body. Miriam has been murdered in her bed, and two things become clear: their invitation came with strings attached, and around the many corners of Miriam's capacious home, strange things are afoot.

There is no shortage of possible motives for Miriam's murder, given her ruthless business practices and greedy nature. The appearance and subsequent disappearance of a bloodstained doll, which Miriam's two grown stepchildren from previous marriages seem to know more about than they want to let on, raises Rachel's suspicion, but the involvement of the local sheriff investigating the case is what ultimately throws Rachel for a loop. No matter--together with the reluctant Jennifer and curious kitty Samanatha, amateur sleuth Rachel is going to make sense of this befuddling case, even if things aren't what they seem.

A delightful Golden Age cozy from a master of mid-century domestic suspense, Cats Don't Need Coffins engages playfully with genre conventions to entertaining and often humorous effect. It is the seventh novel in Hitchens' long-running Rachel Murdock series (originally published under the name D.B. Olsen), which can be read in any order.